


Warm as Ice

by BardofEryn



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, FrostIron - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), M/M, Mild frostiron, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 08:06:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18311582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardofEryn/pseuds/BardofEryn
Summary: "Loki, you need to do the thing."Loki looked up from his copy ofThe Tempestto see Tony in his doorway. "You will have to be more specific."





	Warm as Ice

“Loki, you need to do the thing.”

He looked up from his copy of _The Tempest_ , brushing a strand of raven-black hair out of his face. Tony was standing in the doorway to his room, clutching the doorframe in one hand like a vice. Loki raised an eyebrow. “You will have to be more specific,” he said, setting the book down on an elaborately carved end table.

Tony swore and clutched at the other side of the doorframe. His head drooped so that, for a brief instant, he looked like a martyr about to be sacrificed. “The… The blue thing. Do the blue thing.”

Loki reared his head back. “You want me to turn into my frost giant form?”

He nodded.

“Why?” he asked, suspicious. He tried to keep the fact that he was a frost giant a secret. He’d only told Tony in a moment of weakness. He hadn’t shown anyone, including Thor, what he looked like. “If this is some game of yours…”

“Fuck games,” Tony interrupted. His chest was heaving and his head was down. “Just change.” He looked at him, and for the first time he noticed the look of desperation in his eyes. “Please.”

Loki stood up from his black leather armchair, still eyeing Tony. He clenched his jaw, stared at his hand for a moment, then closed his eyes. He felt the iciness of his true nature creep up his arms and down his chest. He grit his teeth. This had been unpleasant the first time when he had touched the Casket of Ancient Winters. Now, he felt exposed, as if his clothes were being stripped from his body with every icy inch.

He heard the door close with a sharp snap. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his chest. His red eyes leapt open, a snarl on his lips, only to see Tony holding onto him. He was pressing his forehead against his cold chest. He could feel him shaking, then felt warm tears trickle down his tunic.

“Has something happened?” he asked, his anger melting away.

“No,” Tony said without turning his head. “Maybe? Just hold still for a sec.”

Loki furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what was going on. He hadn’t heard any alarms go off. He’d seen Pepper healthy, if not entirely happy, this morning. All of his blood kin were already deceased. Tony’s projects seemed to be going well. He couldn’t see any reason why he should be so upset.

He looked down as Tony wrapped his arms around his cold chest. The heat of Tony’s body against his frost giant form was… unusual. He felt hotter than normal, like a heated blanket rather than a human touch. He wrapped his left arm around Tony’s shoulders and pressed his right hand gently against the back of his head, holding him. “It’s alright, Son of Stark,” he said, drawing his thin, blue fingers through Tony’s dark hair. He rested his chin on top of his head, letting the warmth sink into his neck. “Whatever it is, it’s alright.”

“I was there again,” he heard, Tony’s voice sounding like the whisper of a ghost.

“Where?”

“Afghanistan.”

Suddenly, all the clues clicked into place. “Is this a panic attack?” he asked, lifting his chin from Tony’s head.

He nodded, the motion bunching Loki’s black leather tunic.

Loki’s stomach knotted. “Is there something I should do?”

“Just this,” he said.

He nodded and placed his chin back on Tony’s head. They stood like that for five minutes, barely moving. Finally, Tony took a step back, shrugging out of Loki’s embrace. His cheeks were flamingo pink. “It’s a biology thing,” he said hurriedly, looking down at the floor. He grunted and pulled his shoulders back and his chin up, doing his best to look nonchalant. “There’s a cluster of nerve endings in your forehead that are connected to the sympathetic nervous system. Apply ice and it goes away. We haven’t really figured out why yet. I should get someone on that. Do you think Mayo Clinic would be up for it? No, psychiatry’s better here.”

Loki crossed his arms over his chest, subtly brushing some of the tears off of his tunic as he did so. “I see. So my frost giant form…?”

“Kinda like an ice pack, yeah,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Why did you not use an ice pack then?” he asked, beginning to get annoyed. If all he wanted was ice, he could have gone to the freezer and saved Loki the embarrassment. He looked down at his blue, patterned hand, winced, and began to change back into his Aesir form.

Tony leaned back on his heels. “Well, y’know, the kitchen’s kinda far away. Ice packs get all drippy. And uhh…” He lowered his voice to a mumble and turned his head away from him. “Maybe I needed someone to be there?”

The edges of Loki’s mouth quirked as the last bits of blue left his skin. “So it is a personal matter.”

“Look, you’re the only guy I know who can turn himself into an ice pack.” He furrowed his brow and thought for a second. “Ok, the only one _here_ ,” he corrected. “Bobby’s probably at Salem. And it’s not like I want to go around hugging _him_.”

Loki took a step forward, closing the gap between them. “I see,” he said, his breath ruffling Tony’s hair a bit. A wicked grin spread across his face. “I am a comfort to you.”

He turned his head away from Loki, his cheeks burning. “Yeah, well, y’know, sometimes… when you don’t have the glow stick of destiny.” He looked around the room. “Where is that thing, by the way?”

“My staff is not important,” Loki said, his grin fading. He took Tony gently by the chin and tilted it up so that he was looking into his eyes. He hoped, not for the first time, that Tony could see the genuine concern on his face. “If you need this again,” he said softly. “Either come here or tell J.A.R.V.I.S. that you need a blue icepack. He will then contact me.” He raised his voice a little. “Won’t you, J.A.R.V.I.S.?”

“If that is what Master Tony desires,” the A.I. responded.

“Yeah, lock that down, J.A.R.V.I.S.,” he said, pulling his chin out of Loki’s hand. He took a half step away from Loki and rubbed the back of his neck. “And… uh… thanks, Reindeer Games.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. He walked back to his armchair and flipped open his book to where he’d last left off. “And, should you desire to do this again in a less stressful time," he added, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "I would be happy to oblige.”

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, putting ice on your forehead is actually a way to cope with panic attacks. I've used it several times on myself, and I can tell you that it's strangely effective.


End file.
